Parents are rallying round to save a Belfast pre-school which is set to close at the end of March.

Mums and dads with children at Flutterbies pre-school were left angry and frustrated when they received a letter on Monday to say it would be closing, 10 weeks before the end of term.

Based on the Cregagh Road, it is part of the social outreach of Cregagh Methodist Church and has 16 places, 14 of which are currently filled.

But at the start of the week, parents received a letter from Rev Kenneth Connor to say the church had made the decision to close the pre-school from March 31.

The letter parents received

Now parents are working on petitions and fundraising ideas in a bid to keep Flutterbies going until the end of term in June.

Speaking to Belfast Live, Louise Kaminski, whose four-year-old daughter attends, said it was a "disgraceful" decision.

"At the end of the day to close the doors 10 weeks before they actually finish, it is disgraceful and disgusting," she said.

"These are little people but they just see them as numbers and figures, they have a right to be there and it's not a very Christian thing to do."

Parents claim they were not warned about a potential closure and were not consulted over the decision and say they are now at a loss as they struggle to find places in other nurseries and pre-schools at this stage of the year.

The group of parents hope to push for Flutterbies to remain open until the end of the year so their children do not have to go through the upheaval of change or be left with nothing until school in September.

"A number of the children are autistic and to stop it at the end of March, two thirds of the way through the year, it will be an upheaval and it's going to be bedlam," said mum-of-five Louise.

"The parents are up in arms and we will be fighting to keep it open and doing whatever we can."

Flutterbies has four staff members and runs Monday to Friday from 9.15am to 12.15pm and Louise said parents pay £3 a week to cover breaks for their children.

The Education Authority, who provide funding, said the value of a funded place is £1,801 paid over 10 months.

"I think the church have said, yes the Education Authority fund a certain amount but it's the heating and other stuff," said Louise.

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"But they knew this when they took the numbers in and they advertised for next September. There are questions about how they have managed this.

"We were not notified, we were not given the opportunity to try and save it, they should have consulted us, it is our children and they did not consider us."

She added: "Even if we can not keep it open permanently, we just need to keep it open until the end of June, that's all we are asking. We are not asking them for the world.

"It is only what we expected in the first place when they advertised to have the children until the end of June. As far as I am concerned they are obliged to do that."

A spokesperson for the Church Council said: "Flutterbies pre-school has served the local community for many years, and it was with regret that the decision was taken to close it, due to financial pressures.

"Since issuing the letter to parents, further meetings have been arranged with local representatives and the Education Authority, and it is hoped that alternative outcomes can be explored."